Man Reaches for Branch, Finds Massive Snake Instead

A fisherman experienced a close encounter of the slithery kind while enjoying some time on the San Marcos River in Texas.

Bubba Ward was kayak fishing on the river in February with his kayak tied to him. When the boat began to drift too far away in the current, he moved toward the kayak to retrieve it. He then reached toward an overhanging branch to get some balance.

That’s when he realized he was about to grab a humongous, 4-foot-long snake.

“When I got ready to get back in the boat, I reached to grab the branch and that’s when I noticed (the snake) there,” Ward told San Antonio Express-News. “He was definitely aware of my presence — moving his head back and forth with the motion of the boat,” he added.

But, while the snake might have looked deadly, apparently it wasn’t. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokeswoman Stephanie Salinas told the Express in an email that the snake appeared to be a nonvenomous water snake.

What kind of snake it was didn’t matter much to Ward at the moment he was face-to-face with it.

“Either way, I respectfully gave him his space and we went on about our business,” the fisherman said about the encounter.

Not a bad move, even if the snake wasn’t venomous. A bite from the wrong kind of snake could kill you, so best not to take any chances.